Avatar Removed From Disney+ Ahead of Re-Release

The biggest movie of all time has suddenly been removed from the Disney+ streaming lineup. Avatar, from director James Cameron, broke records after it was released in 2009, and spawned a franchise that will eventually consist of five feature films. This December will see the first Avatar sequel hit theaters, with an Avatar re-release planned on the big screen before that. It seems like Avatar is more popular now than it has been in a decade, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to see Disney remove it from its roster.

This week, Avatar simply disappeared from Disney+. There was no announcement from the company, nor any indication that the film would be leaving. This removal comes just one month before Avatar is scheduled to be re-released in theaters yet again, this time with a remastered version.

The Avatar remaster is going to be released in theaters on September 23rd, three months ahead of the debut of Avatar: The Way of Water. It’s likely that the removal of Avatar from Disney+ is simply to encourage people to head out to theaters to see the film on the big screen again. Look for Avatar to potentially return to Disney+ after the remastered version has finished its run in theaters.

Avatar: The Way of Water has been in the works for a number of years, and is the first of four planned sequels. Earlier this year, director James Cameron opened up about bringing the film to life.

“With the first Avatar we set out to push the limits of the big screen with the new avatar films. We’re pushing those limits even further, with 3D with high dynamic range, with high frame rate, higher resolution, and a much greater reality in our visual effects,” Cameron said.

“But it’s not just the technical while I’m making a movie. It’s working with the actors that I find the most rewarding and it’s been an amazing adventure to explore Pandora again with our friends. So we settled on Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Steven Lang, not to mention our new cast members Kate Winslet, Cliff Curtis, and this incredible group of extremely talented teenagers, all of whom quickly distinguished themselves in their roles. We wanted our return to Pandora to be something really special. Every shot was designed for the biggest screen, the highest resolution, and the most immersive 3D available. We set out once again to push the limits of what cinema can do. I think we pulled it off. I hope we pulled it off. I hope when you see the film in December that you will agree.”